These Papst would cheerfully defraud. Self-important and familiar, they come up to him, calling him Moses: “Well, Moses, have you got a good watch for me today?” Papst takes a watch out of his pocket and makes a great show of displaying it to the prospective customer. “Look at that!” he says. The man looks at it, opens it, and asks if it is a good one. “Good?” answers Papst. “I carry the same sort in my own pocket. Look for yourself!” And he pulls one of his own watches out of his pocket for comparison. Then comes the price. Papst asks a stiff price of everybody; but with upstarts who pretend to be experts it is generally double. If he is then offered half, his face grows sad as though greatly blighted by the thought of so much wickedness in the world. He takes the watch back. No business that day.

But the customer knows about Papst from hearsay. He shows up again later, and Papst recognizes the man again. “Make me another offer!” he says. The man might add on a few coppers. “No, no, no!” says Papst and brings out the watch again and shows it off, opens and shuts it, and puts it back in his pocket. But when the man’s face shows he is about to leave, Papst gives a deep sigh at all the wickedness in the world and concludes the sale. He is selling at a loss, indeed he is. It will bring ruination and the grave, but there is no help for it! When the man has counted out the money, Papst takes out the watch and hands it over, resplendent and shining, with fine engraving on the case. The watch ticks magnificently … but it is not the same watch! Papst has been into one of his mysterious pockets and found another one. It looks the same, but it is a cheaper watch.

It can of course happen that the upstart really is quite smart and has also had his suspicions aroused. He might catch Papst out in his cheating and start making a fuss. Then Papst will shake his head sadly at himself and say: “There, you see! I know nobody smarter than you. I didn’t notice it myself, but you saw it!” And in order to appease the customer, he gives him his own pocket watch—which the man assumes is a kind of guarantee. But, in fact, he walks away with a third and very ordinary watch.

Here at the fair Edevart saw the Armenian again, the organ grinder from back home; and the Hungarian was still with him. He ran across them one afternoon down by the quayside. They had taken up a stand on a crowded stretch and they were hard at it with their music and the peep show.

The two men had not changed wholly beyond recognition in the three years since their appearance in the village back home: merely that the Armenian now had two black eyes and was thus totally blind. Poor man, to be an organ grinder in a strange land! Such is fate! Some felt pity for him and put coins into the boy’s begging bowl; children and young people flocked around the marvelous barrel organ with Napoleon and his generals in their gold and bright colors.

“I know them,” whispered Edevart to the man beside him. “I have seen them before!” And he turned directly to the organ grinder and asked: “Have you become blind?”

“Yes, blind!” answered the man sorrowfully, and shook his head.

“I don’t believe it,” said Edevart. For he had noticed that the good Armenian looked intently at him when he heard the question.

Now the Hungarian joined in, shouting and attacking his companion as of old, with blows and hard punches.